[UPDATE] Saudi Arabia says it intercepted a Houthi missile aimed at Riyadh
Houthi official Mohamed al-Bukhaiti says the group will keep targeting Saudi Arabia while honoring its pledge not to attack U.S. vessels.
The attacks. Saudi Arabia reported no casualties after intercepting a missile aimed at its capital on Saturday, Sept. 19. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis also claimed to have targeted Aramco oil facilities in Yanbu. A fire was reported near Riyadh’s airport, but its cause has not been established. The reporting does not confirm that a missile hit the fuel depot. Oil prices rose following the attack, Reuters reported. The U.S. warning. The State Department urged Americans across the Middle East to prepare for possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and other travel disruption. Americans outside the region should reconsider travel there. This was a travel warning, not an evacuation order. Washington Examiner
PREVIOUSLY
- Sept. 9 — Houthi attacks wounded 73 people across four Saudi cities and halted Aramco’s Jazan refinery, which processes 400,000 barrels a day.
- Sept. 10 — Brent crude (an international benchmark for oil prices) exceeded $100 a barrel, up from near $99; U.S. diesel reached $5.94 a gallon.
- Sept. 11–12 — Houthis captured Mokha and Perim island beside the Bab el-Mandeb passage connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
- Sept. 16 — Aramco suspended oil loadings at Yanbu and cancelled September cargoes.
- Sept. 19 — Air-raid sirens sounded in Riyadh for the first time since fighting escalated in July; a fire appeared near its airport.